Townsend, Tennessee - Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, East Tennessee and Western North Carolina

Welcome to the Fishing Report from the Great Smoky Mountains. It is sunny and 24 degrees in Townsend this morning. It is hard to believe the high temperature today will be 64 degrees. That’s what they are saying. Spring weather will return today.

Little River is flowing at 198 cubic feet per second (cfs) or 1.82 feet on the gauge. Median flow for this date is 329 cfs. The water temperature is a chilly 40.8 degrees at 8:20 am.

Until yesterday, fishing was good. The guides were reporting lots of aquatic insects on the water and active trout. Josh said he saw plenty of Quill Gordons on the rocks Wednesday, trying to dry their wings. Fishing was good too. The trout have been taking nymphs or wet flies for the most part. There has been some dry fly action but sub-surface fishing has been better.

The water will gradually warm today and through the weekend. Tomorrow’s high is expected to be 65 degrees. It will cool some Sunday and there is a good chance for rain. I think fishing will be pretty good this weekend.

If you can get away to fish today, I would wait until later when the water warms up some. 40.8 degrees is cold. I would also use nymphs or wet flies unless you see bugs on the water and trout rising to them.

The 10-day weather outlook looks good with most days being warmer than normal for March. Good fly fishing for trout in the Smokies looks promising for the next week and a half.

Our store is loaded with merchandise and ready for the rush when anglers get out on the water again. Our beginner fly fishing classes are starting again this month.

Remember, we are open until 6:00 pm tonight and Saturday night. Also, we are open every Sunday from 9 until 5, all year long.

I ordered a Malone kayak trailer Monday and I hope to get it today. I am one of those people, who have reached an age, that tossing a 85 pound kayak on top of an old suburban is out of the question. Our kayaks are heavy. They are sit-on-tops made for fishing. Made by Wilderness Systems, the models is the 135 Ride. These are great boats, they are just heavy.

We’ve been offshore in the Gulf, managed to get back to shore in 3’ swells and I don’t think you could turn one over unless you tried. We bought sit-on-tops because there is always a chance you could swamp a kayak in deep water. These boats are self-draining. Water may come in but it immediately drains out. You can’t swamp them.

Once, I was fishing offshore in my kayak near Crystal River. A Florida Fish and Game Officer pulled up next to me. He wanted to check everything out, including me. The officer was driving what looked to be a 24 foot center console boat. We were in the Gulf and the water was deep. I showed him my Florida Fishing license.

Then, he became interested in the front compartment. Maybe he thought I had some illegal fish in a cooler up there. He asked what was in the bow and I told him I had an extra paddle and dry bag full of stuff, including a marine radio. He wanted to verify that.

I told him I couldn’t risk crawling up there to open the hatch. If he wanted to look himself, by all means, go ahead. About that time Jack Gregory, in another kayak started paddling toward us. I guess the officer got the idea that nobody, who is up to no good would be paddling toward him. He decided not to search my boat. He was a nice guy and fished out of a kayak himself.

This trailer comes in several boxes and requires assembly. When it’s ready to go I’ll post a photo. Since I mentioned this idea, a lot of people have expressed an interest.

I hope to see many of you this weekend. I think fishing will be pretty good.